This invention relates to apparatus and methods for medical radiographic examination. More particularly, the invention is directed to auxiliary apparatus used in enhancing the mode of conducting diagnostic X-ray examination and for detecting internal growths including tumors, cancer and other types of defects and abnormalities in the female breast.
The general method employed in the subject invention includes gravitationally suspending the breast between compressive plates during radiographic exposure. The technique itself and the basic apparatus for carrying-out the method are described in Lasky U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,971, and the entire disclosure of that patent is hereby specifically incorporated herein by reference to the extent it is not inconsistent herewith.
Radiographic or X-ray examination techniques have been widely employed in the past for the medical diagnosis and the detection of tumorous body growths. The instant application is directed specifically to mammography, the technique broadly used in the detection of breast tumors, cancer, and other growths in the adult female breast.
The present invention invokes the teachings of the above-identified Lasky U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,971 and provides auxiliary apparatus enhancing the technique and further obviating the shortcomings and deficiencies of prior art procedures. As in the reference referred to, the present invention utilizes the technique of examining the breast under conditions such that internal structures are radiographically displayed for diagnostic visualization, in their most orderly anatomic arrangement and under conditions of reduced and substantially uniform tissue thickness to permit minimal radiation exposure and to ensure optimum field of examination, sharp image focus, and even image density.